Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and 2022 Nashville winner, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Chase, consistency has been a key word for your season so far. It seemed like you really stepped it up and at Charlotte and Kansas. Are there any changes in the team or what have you all found here in the last few weeks?

“I think, yeah, Kansas (Speedway) and honestly North Wilkesboro (Speedway), too, I thought was a solid week for us. And then, yeah, I thought we had a really good car last week at Charlotte, as well. I think it’s a product of a lot of hard work and just a collective effort of trying to make some improvement. That’s always the goal, just keep chipping away. I think the team’s in a really good spot. We had a really good week on pit road. Really, they kept me in the game last week. They gained me two or three spots on every pit stop, and I’d give away five or six. So it was a frustrating night on my end, but I thought the car performed really well. All the pieces of the puzzle were really in place. I just need to continuously work on my craft and make sure that I’m doing my part.”

Three concrete tracks on the schedule – here at Nashville, Dover and Bristol, and you’ve won at all three. What about the concrete surface fits your driving still?

“Yeah, I don’t really know that it’s — I mean, I guess it could have been concrete, but I didn’t really think about it like that. I think we’ve fortunately had some good runs at those three tracks. I don’t necessarily have one reason, I think it’s probably a lot of reasons, truthfully. So I hope that this weekend’s another good effort for us.

For me, it’s never about — hey, you won here however many years ago, you should be good. It’s what do I have going on right now? What is our team doing well right now? What do we need to improve on to be good here this weekend? Just because so much changes. I’m more of a ‘what’s going on lately’ type of person, and I just think the performance is really centered around that more than those historical practices and things that happened years ago.”

Chase, how do you view your playoff situation? We’re into the second-half of the regular season. We’ve only had eight winners. You’re the highest, way above the cut line, of the drivers who haven’t won yet because of your consistency. Just how do you view being so far above the cut line in your picture of the playoff right now?

“I mean, yeah, certainly better to be in that position than on the other side of the fence, no doubt. But I’d be lying if I said that was my top focus. It’s just not. I think that if you’re worried about barely getting into the playoffs, I think you have some work to do. It really is kind of the best way I can think about that. And just to talk about my thought process, I want to be better than that. I want to be in the group of people of how many playoff points do you have, not just barely getting in. Our expectations and goals are above that, and we hope that we can achieve all of our goals.

But again, nice to be on that side of the fence, no question. But there’s also a lot of racing left between now and the cutoff. You know, if you win, then your problems are likely solved. And if you don’t and you have a bunch of winners, you can find yourself in a tough spot. We’ve been in that spot before, too. So yeah, we want to not find ourselves in a tough position, you know, come the end of Week 26.”

The top-32 are set after tomorrow night for this in-season challenge. With the eye on the big picture of the playoffs, how interesting is it week-to-week, trying to win each week, or how much do you keep an eye on that in-season challenge of trying to win that prize? A million dollars is not bad…

“Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, similar to the last question — all of the points stuff, it all takes care of itself when you just do your job. So that’s kind of my approach to all those things. It just does not do you any good to worry about those things. Our expectations and our goals are to try and be amongst those teams that have opportunities to win regularly. You know, if you’re doing that, you’re going to get your turn. And if you’re not, then you won’t. It’s really that simple. I think that if your goals and your expectations are in a high enough place and where they should be, the stuff that goes on on the side will sort itself out, and that’s kind of how I’ll view that, as well.”

Without a stage win or a race win season, do you get a little anxious for those kinds of things while you’re trying to manage and be consistent?

“No, I don’t. I wouldn’t say I’m anxious about it. I just want to go and achieve it. You know, those are our goals and those are the things that we want to go out there and achieve.

But no, I guess to answer your question, I don’t feel any anxiety from that. I just want to make it happen.”

You’ve had a really good record at Michigan International Speedway in the past. I think you started your career there with three second-place results. How important is it to do well at that track since it’s home to the manufacturers?

“Yeah, for sure. It’s always good to go to Michigan (International Speedway) and have a good run. It’s certainly changed a lot, you know, over the years, just with how the cars have changed. But the racetrack itself is like the most consistent place I’ve ever seen for, for a racetrack that has those hard winters. It just doesn’t seem to get old, which is kind of crazy.

I enjoy going out there. If you’ve never been to Michigan in the summer, it’s actually really nice. I highly recommend it. I always enjoy going up there in the summer months. Certainly a great place to have a good run for GM and everybody involved there. They do a lot for us.”

Elton Sawyer said on SiriusXM this past week about the possibility of increasing horsepower. In your opinion, do you feel like that is something that’ll help the product with the short-track racing? And if so, how much does it require to see a difference?

“Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m not super in-tune with what those numbers are or like what’s being talked about as far, as how far they want to go with it. So I don’t know that I’m super educated on kind of what’s possible, what’s even true or not true. I think it’d be worth a shot, you know, if the engine manufacturers are willing to do it. And that’s probably going to be a question for them, truthfully, because they’re going to dictate how much power we can give the current packages that we have and still have the longevity and the reliability we expect to have because I think we have to run them three times. So, you know, I think without having a total overhaul, you’ve got to play within those walls, right? And I think the engine manufacturers are going to have to get on the same page and agree to a number, which is always difficult. You know, throughout my career, it’s like — Chevrolet might want one thing, Toyota might want something else, and Ford might want something different. And everybody kind of plays to their strengths as to what they think they have their leg up on, right? And that’s just a game. So you’re going to have to get all of them to agree, which in my view, is going to be a difficult thing to do. But hopefully they can, and everybody’s willing to give it a shot somewhere just to see if it makes a difference. It might not do anything, but it might really help. And until you try, I don’t know that you really have an answer.”

Chase, at various times in your life, you’ve snow skied and snowboarded in the higher elevations of the Western Mountains, so you’re aware of the physical activity and all at a higher elevation. With the Mexico track being more than 7,000 feet, what are you doing to prepare for that elevation you’ll be racing in?

“Yeah, I had thoughts of trying to get somewhere, you know, with the higher elevation before the weekend or before going down there, but I’m not so sure if my schedule is going to allow that to happen. So I’m going in earlier than I would typically go in, you know, for a race weekend for Mexico City. There’s lot of reasons for that, one of them being to your question, and just to hopefully alleviate any kind of sickness or not feeling good. I visited Mexico City a month or so back, and we did some media events for the race, and fortunately, I felt fine. I felt good. We were only there for a day or two, but I felt okay that whole period of time. Granted, I wasn’t pushing my heart rate, running or anything like that, so that might be different. But yeah, hopefully, it’s like that again. I felt normal. So yeah, kind of wait and see when we get on track and see how you feel. But going to go in a little early, and hopefully that alleviates all that stuff.”

How’s your father doing? Does he get to attend many races, and you still kind of rely on him sometimes for advice or counsel when things aren’t going too well?

“Oh, yeah, he’s doing good. He comes to the races every now and again, not a ton. He enjoys his time away from the racetrack, and I think he’s earned that right. He ran around this deal for a long time, so he seems to be enjoying that, which I think is great. I love to have him when he does come.

And yeah, for sure. I mean, I think he keeps up and pays attention, and he keeps his eye on us. I hope we don’t have to have many of those conversations, right? You just want to keep trucking, keep plugging away and keep working hard. He’s done it long enough to know that this deal is going to have ups and downs, and that’s just part of racing. But yes, if that is needed, he’s always there for that.”

GM PR

NASCAR starting positions for Nashville Superspeedway

Tomorrow, the NASCAR Cup Series takes the green flag in Tennessee. Now, the field is set to roll to the 1.33-mile of Nashville Superspeedway for a round of practice and qualifying.

View the Nashville starting lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series below.

Nashville Menu
Truck: Prac/Qual | Race
Xfinity: Prac/Qual | Race
Cup: Prac/Qual | Race

Nashville TV Schedule

Kyle Busch hits the turn four bump during his practice run. He goes for a spin but avoids the wall. Moments later, Josh Berry is around in the exact same spot.

Chase Briscoe will start from the pole position after turning a lap at 29.125 seconds. Denny Hamlin completes the front row.

Denny Hamlin likely to miss the NASCAR race at Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway
Starting Lineup
June 1, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series

Pos | Driver | Best Time

1. Chase Briscoe
29.125

2. Denny Hamlin
29.184

3. William Byron
29.307

4. Tyler Reddick
29.308

5. Ross Chastain
29.310

6. Brad Keselowski
29.377

7. Christopher Bell
29.387

8. Michael McDowell
29.397

9. Joey Logano
29.434

10. Chris Buescher
29.443

11. Chase Elliott
29.477

12. Bubba Wallace
29.526

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
29.588

14. Erik Jones
29.589

15. Ryan Blaney
29.601

16. Austin Cindric
29.606

17. AJ Allmendinger
29.619

18. Justin Haley
29.623

19. Ryan Preece
29.635

20. Josh Berry
29.651

21. Austin Dillon
29.657

22. Ty Gibbs
29.658

23. Shane van Gisbergen
29.659

24. Alex Bowman
29.670

25. Kyle Busch
29.732

26. Carson Hocevar
29.754

27. Zane Smith
29.766

28. Kyle Larson
29.778

29. Cole Custer
29.807

30. Noah Gragson
29.820

31. Ty Dillon
29.824

32. Daniel Suarez
29.884

33. Corey Heim
29.896

34. Cody Ware
29.951

35. Todd Gilliland
29.996

36. John Hunter Nemechek
30.023

37. Riley Herbst
30.160

38. JJ Yeley
30.443

39. Chad Finchum
31.729

Nashville Superspeedway
Practice Results
May 31, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series

Pos | Driver | Best Time

1. Tyler Reddick
29.677

2. Denny Hamlin
29.738

3. Chase Elliott
29.772

4. William Byron
29.773

5. Chase Briscoe
29.779

6. Brad Keselowski
29.793

7. Ross Chastain
29.841

8. Carson Hocevar
29.862

9. Bubba Wallace
29.881

10. Michael McDowell
29.889

11. AJ Allmendinger
29.912

12. Erik Jones
29.918

13. Ty Gibbs
29.926

14. Christopher Bell
29.943

15. Ryan Blaney
29.956

16. Zane Smith
29.962

17. Ryan Preece
29.972

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
29.973

19. Justin Haley
29.974

20. Todd Gilliland
29.978

21. Daniel Suarez
29.991

22. Alex Bowman
29.995

23. Austin Cindric
29.995

24. Kyle Larson
30.011

25. Kyle Busch
30.013

26. Chris Buescher
30.018

27. Corey Heim
30.020

28. Shane Van Gisbergen
30.041

29. Josh Berry
30.042

30. John Hunter Nemechek
30.050

31. Riley Herbst
30.055

32. Joey Logano
30.085

33. Noah Gragson
30.087

34. Austin Dillon
30.118

35. Cody Ware
30.175

36. Ty Dillon
30.195

37. Cole Custer
30.257

38. JJ Yeley
30.765

39. Chad Finchum
31.200

Links

Nashville SuperSpeedway | NASCAR

LEBANON, Tenn. — Kyle Larson hasn’t spent much time thinking about his latest failed attempt at becoming only the second driver to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway again may just have to wait until Larson’s NASCAR career ends.

“That’s not me shutting down the 500 again,” Larson said. “Someday, maybe when I’m done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it. It’s such an awesome event, like it is the greatest event in the world. So I don’t want to miss out on that too much.”

Larson said Saturday the attempt just doesn’t make sense logistically with any small delay, weather or crash throwing off the entire schedule.

He’s been dealing with a bit of a “Double” hangover since last weekend’s attempt. He also made a quick trip to Mexico to check out the altitude and area for NASCAR’s race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15. He slept much of Friday after getting sick.

Larson made his first try at one of the toughest challenges in motorsports in 2024 when four hours of rain delays at the Indianapolis 500 wrecked his plans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then made him late to Charlotte with the NASCAR race called before he ever took a lap.

Last week, Larson crashed on Lap 91 of the Indianapolis 500, flew to Charlotte and then had his NASCAR race end on Lap 246 when caught up in a wreck ending his bid to join Tony Stewart who finished sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before flying to Charlotte where he finished third in the Cup Series race.

John Andretti was the first driver to try the double in 1994, and Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot.

Asked what changes could help make competing in both races and finishing the Double possible, Larson said moving the start time up for the Indy 500 wouldn’t work. That race already starts at 9:45 a.m. on the West Coast with people there unlikely to wake up earlier.

Larson said the Coca-Cola 600 can’t start much later. Even with not many cautions, that race still ends after 11 p.m. Eastern.

“I don’t know how those guys did in the past, like that must have been perfect, weather and cautions and all that,” Larson said.

The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series continues at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, May 31, with qualifying up first ahead of the Tennessee Lottery 250.

This weekend’s race takes place just days after an exciting event at Charlotte in which Cup Series star William Byron ran out as the winner.

That, combined with Kyle Larson’s win at Texas earlier this month, means that only Cup Series drivers have won an Xfinity Series race so far in the month of May.

With just this weekend’s race to go, it will certainly be exciting to watch who comes out on top on this occasion, particularly with another Cup Series driver in Ross Chastain competing this weekend.

In terms of the Xfinity Series standings, heading to Nashville, Justin Allgaier continues to lead the way, with the No. 7 driver holding a 72-point advantage over his closest rival, Austin Hill, at present. Elsewhere, Sam Mayer, Jesse Love and Brandon Jones round out the current top five.

With that said, let’s take a look at all of the timing and TV details you need to know ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.

READ MORE: NASCAR boss confirms veteran Cup Series star will race in 2026

NASCAR Xfinity Series Nashville qualifying start times

NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway starts today (Saturday, May 31) at 3:10 pm ET. You can find the start time converted to your local city and time zone below.

How to watch NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying live on TV today

NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying action from Nashville Superspeedway today can be watched for FREE live on the CW App.

In 2025, all of the action from the Xfinity Series is set to be shown live on the CW in the United States.

Broadcast details may vary depending on your location.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team hit with DOUBLE penalty ahead of Nashville

Related

Ahead of Prime Video’s first weekend streaming a NASCAR Cup Series race, the first half a four-part documentary on the late, great Dale Earnhardt was released. The show immediately shot to No. 1 among trending shows on the streaming service, and remains inside the top five a full week later as the final two parts were released.

After completing the series and wiping a few tears away, it’s clear that ‘Earnhardt’ did a better job than anything that came prior in painting a realistic portrait of Dale the racer, but also the human being behind ‘The Intimidator’ persona. Many only know the mythic figure now immortalized in the media and few truly understand the complex and conflicted individual behind it all. 

The two sides of Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt

Photo by: Robert Kurtycz

While this documentary hits on all the major moments of his career and does a great job in following both his meteoric rise and on-track struggles, where it really shines is when it details Dale’s life beyond the track. It takes on his complicated personal relationships and does not shy away from sensitive subjects.

Dale Earnhardt’s story was one of tragedy, as much as it was one of triumph, and not just because of how it ended. The way Dale Sr. so desperately sought the approval of his father and how that desire followed him throughout his career to the point where he was “chasing a ghost” is a constant theme in each part. And of course, how his own relationship with Dale Jr. was impacted by this with the father-son duo only finding common ground once Junior began to win some prominent races. And then there’s Kelley, who was barely speaking to her famous father leading up to his sudden passing. I’d like to delve deeper into all of this, but really, if you’re intrigued, just go watch it because my words can never do it justice.

This docuseries covers aspects of Earnhardt’s life and mindset that have rarely been explored in media, and never this well before. It highlights his struggles in dealing with the tragic death of Neil Bonnett, which had a monumental effect on him in 1994. Earnhardt went on to win the title that year, dedicating it to him. Despite that, he struggled to process it and talk about Bonnett with others, nor could he even bring himself to attend his best friend’s funeral.

Dale Earnhardt

Photo by: General Motors

And that’s just scratching the surface of it all. It’s a story that feels like a look at the entire Earnhardt family — not just Dale — giving a specific focus to the upbringing of his children and Dale Jr.’s early NASCAR career. 

The commentary from Dale Jr., as well as his siblings Kelley and Kerry, was some of the most captivating aspects of the entire documentary. And they are just some of the individuals who offer incredible insight into this four-part series, which carefully reconstructs the career and life of Dale Earnhardt with heart-wrenching perfection. There is no exaggeration. It is a real and unfiltered look at the NASCAR legend — the good and the bad.

And yes, the final episode is quite heavy, as it focuses on the 2001 Daytona 500 and the events that followed. We even hear about the intimate moments in the hospital with Dale Jr. unable to fully enter the room while Darrell Waltrip asked to go in to give his friend and old rival a final goodbye. You will likely come away from the show with a new understanding of Earnhardt and his life, even if you’re already a long-time fan.